Page 9 - Sanger Herald 4-26-18 E-edition

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SANGER HERALD * PAGE 1B * THURSDAY, APRIL 26, 2018
Lacrosse team works with young talent
By Mike Nemeth
Sanger Herald
Sanger High’s lacrosse team dropped their game faces briefly and formed up on the sidelines of Tom Flores Stadium in a couple rows.
Their pre-game warmup, accompanied to music, projected a certain south- of-the-border flavor. And the girls grinned and joked. At least half of them had the routine down. Those who didn’t simply imitated the somewhat complex dance steps of the girl next to her.
Even coach Stephanie Butterfield amicably joined in.
“It’s called the Mexican electric slide,” said one of them helpfully.
The Apaches faced the Warriors of Fresno High that day, April 19. Fresno had compiled a winning overall record, whereas Sanger had just come off a loss against San Joaquin Memorial and would experience another to the same school the next day.
They would lose this game, too, by a lopsided 16-4 score.
Mike Nemeth / Sanger Herald
Jacquelyn Pantaleon, No. 12, and a teammate struggle with some Fresno players.
a second-year team, proved just about unbeatable, tearing up the field and winning more often than not. Had this been last year, Fresno’s team would have left for home after suffering the loss.
However, this group of Apaches is young. Most are freshmen or sophomores.
“We lost 16 last year,” Butterfield said, referring to graduation. And about eight others decided not to return. “Basically, it’s a completely new team.”
And with newness comes inexperience. Lacrosse isn’t the easiest sport to pick up. It’s got a bundle of rules, and passing the hard little yellow ball with anetonastickcanbenear impossible for the novice. Defense is difficult and charging through a scrum of girls to score can be difficult while holding that aforementioned stick and rotating it while cradling the ball in its tiny net.
Somehow, however, this new team of Apaches is figuring out the routine. Third-year lacrosse veteran and senior Jennifer Lopez did her best to take it to the Warriors, getting a lot
of help from freshman Prisilla Melendez and a host of others on the field.
They kept the score close in the first 25-minute half.
“We’ve got a lot ahead of us because we’re all new,” Lopez said. “In the years to come, I feel like they’re going to get better.”
Sophomore Emily Hartsell said, “As a new team we put a lot of work forth. And I’m excited for next year. I went a little hard today.”
Hartsell ran the field, attempting to derail the Warriors’ well-executed offensive plays. The Fresno High team knew how to pass, slinging the ball from player to player with ease and familiarity.
One of the Warrior standouts was Alyssa Vargas. She had the ability to sprint up the sideline and deliver the ball to her teammates, who would launch a forward assault on the Apache goalie. Nothing stopped her.
“We work really hard,” she said after the game. “The longer you play, of course, the better you get.”
See Lacrosse, Page 2B
Yet, they were upbeat, engaged in their game and concerned about their fellow players and the methods they would use to attempt to unseat their rivals. When the referee
gathered the three top players from each team at the start of the first half for his discussion of what would and would not be allowed, they showed respect. And they even
laughed at his jokes. “They’re a fantastic
group of girls,” Butterfield said after the game.
This is Sanger’s third season fielding a lacrosse team. Last year’s Apaches,
Apaches dismantle Coyotes again
By Mike Nemeth
Sanger Herald
Brennan Taylor expected a competitive game in the third seasonal volleyball matchup between County Metro Athletic Conference leaders Madera and Sanger on April 19.
The Coyotes have height and hitting and blocking power, specifically behind the talents of their No. 3, senior Brian Garcia. Garcia has signed with the University of California Irvine’s Anteaters to play for head coach David Kniffin. The Madera Tribune reported that he’s the first volleyball player from the school to sign with a four-year college.
And Garcia made quite a few spectacular kills, but the Coyotes didn’t quite live up to their reputation. They did stay in the game, keeping the score close in the second match, with a 25-20 loss, and in the third, with a 25-22 loss for Sanger.
But Madera’s mistakes and Sanger’s precision play in the first match, which resulted in a 25-14 win for the Apaches, and the final, which the Apaches won 25-15, exemplified the reality. The final was 3-1 Apaches. And that followed the previous meetings March 3 and 22, which Sanger won much the same way.
“We’re No. 1,” said Kacy Maine, a senior who led the series in kills for Sanger, according to MaxPreps.
And the Apaches played like they deserve the ranking. Sanger was 27-6 overall after vanquishing Madera, and the Coyotes were 14-13 overall. MaxPreps placed them in third in Division II standings after Madera South.
Sanger assistant coach Colby Hashimoto praised his team after the Madera game. “Good job putting it
Mike Nemeth / Sanger Herald
Coyote Brian Garcia, No. 3, tries to rally against Brennan Taylor, No. 8, and Grant Harrison on the Apaches' side of the net. The teams are arch rivals, but Sanger won 3-1.
like to clone. Despite often being smaller and bringing less star power, Sanger teams figure out a way to win by playing together and using the collective talents to extract exponential returns. This has worked for girls and boys teams. And even when they’re down, Apaches aren’t out, simply returning with a vengeance the following season.
The volleyball team’s setter, junior John Her, explained how he operates as his teammates went to partake in the meal prepared for them following the Madera game. A setter’s role is pivotal and often determines the outcome of each play.
“Throughout the whole game, I stay calm because my team is there for me,” Her said. “And I know we’re going to win (because) I know we have each other.
“We get in their heads because we stay calm. We just know how to control our attitude.”
And Sanger does it without overly flashy play — not to say some of Maine’s kills aren’t spectacular. But just for illustration, in the Madera game, Grant Harrison flummoxed the Coyotes repeatedly with his “kills.”
“We call it the Grant,” said Britton Navo. (Or was it his twin brother Kennedy? Hard to tell with those two freshmen.)
Harrison, a sophomore, explained. “I want to say it’s a signature move,” he said. “I use it more to throw off the defense. They expect me to hit, and I just tap it to the middle or an open spot. Nobody knows where it will go.”
The result is often a point for Sanger. But Harrison’s approach is all theater. He leaps up and makes like he’s going to slam the ball. But, instead, at the
last minute, he delicately taps it over the net. Apache opponents often emit a collective “Argh!” when he performs the maneuver.
Continuing the analysis, Sanger’s success this season comes from many quarters. For instance, in the final game, senior Seth Moua prevented a devastating hit from Garcia from being a kill. He appeared to have prevented the point with a perfectly executed dig by reading his opponent’s mind.
“I just saw it,” he said. “He put it down. I was able to take a step over. The ball just came right (there). It’s what we practice so I’m used to it.”
Practice. Hashimoto mentioned practice, too. By the way, a dig is essentially preventing the ball from hitting the court after being spiked by the opposing team. The ball travels at a high rate of speed, and to be successful, the digger has to anticipate not only the move but be prepared to dive in any direction.
And all the other players contribute. Luis Villegas, a sophomore, can spike but he also can offer up a delicate tip like he did in the final match against Madera, nailing the point. Jesus Gomez is an all- around player who also blocks and slams the the ball when necessary. Taylor does the same. At 6-foot-3 or something like that, he’s the tallest on the team.
Assistant coach Marcos Mireles told his Apaches they took Garcia out of the game with their teamwork. “Overall really good match,” he said.
And it continues.
The reporter can be contacted by email at sangerheraldsports@gmail. com or by phone at the Herald at (559) 875-2511.
down guys,” he said. “You guys came out and did everything you (practiced). Nothing more we can ask you to do. Good passes all over the court.
“You guys got right in their heads, and they couldn’t come back.”
Head coach Scott Okada
said the team would again face a really big hitter in an upcoming game. The Apaches were to head out to a tournament in Granite Bay that weekend. “Again,” he said. “One good hitter shouldn’t beat a good team. And we’re a really good team.”
Okada said Madera didn’t exhibit the same kind of camaraderie his Apaches did. “It’s a game,” he said. “It’s fun. You guys have each other.”
These volleyball Apaches share traits with the other sports, a strength that many other teams would